7 Qualities to Look For In a Voice Teacher
Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, and ME.
Just kidding of course. There are actually a lot of things to consider when you are looking for a voice teacher! It may seem easy or it may seem hard but finding a voice teacher requires several elements, especially for a long-lasting student-teacher relationship. Ultimately, you want to find someone that you trust to guide you long term. Here are 7 qualities you can look for in myself or in other vocal coaches as you make your decision on who to study with:
Voice Training and Educational Background. There are many teachers out there with a multitude of backgrounds and training. You would be surprised how often contemporary singers are placed in classical instruction but what they really need is a contemporary approach. I can tell you from first hand experience, I am not a classically trained vocal instructor (Bel Canto approach), I am a contemporary trained instructor. Some instructors don’t even have any real training! Classical voices in my view would benefit more from a Bel Canto trained vocal coach than with someone like myself. Most instructors can’t explain the difference between the two, I can. This comes with many years of training and experience.
A Proper Focus on Your Goals. Similarly to where I left off in the first bullet-point, a good voice teacher will ask you about your personal goals and always work toward helping you to achieve them. I am personally a strong believer that the student should more or less choose the music they want to work through in order to achieve those goals. Sometimes though, I inherit students that complain that their teachers forced them to only work on certain styles of singing (ie. Music theater) when they prefer something else like country music. To me, that is not an example of being considerate of the student’s goals. Sometimes students are open to doing whatever music the teacher suggests and that generally works well but ask yourself first if you have a preference or not.
Someone That Can Pinpoint Bad Habits or Weak Spots. An important aspect of instruction is the ability to take note of individual bad habits and weak spots when everyone is so different. We do tend to see many similar issues over all but its important that your voice teacher pick up on your specific issues, target them, and work on them with you.
A Teacher That Has a Proper Eduction. Some teachers as I mentioned earlier don’t even really have an educational background but often start out teaching because they have nice voices. This can be fine for a time but they may not be able to properly explain to you important techniques and often over time these same teachers end up taking lessons with people like me who are trained in skills for longevity of vocal ability. Not all good singers are good teachers, keep that in mind. Often you don’t see much progress with these types of voice teachers.
Someone Whose Schedule Works With Yours. Feel like you found someone that meets all of the criteria so far? Often not considered is availability and or flexibility. My website is set up to accommodate the needs of both committed and sporadic scheduling. Make sure you check with someone like myself or another voice teacher to see what their scheduling and commitment protocol is. Also make sure there is room on the calendar for a time that works for both of you.
A Voice Teacher With a Good Ear. In order for your vocal coach to be able to help you be the best singer you can be, they need to be able to hear various nuances in not just voices but music in general. All singers need varying levels of help with intonation- its a part of the human experience- and the better your teacher’s ear, the better your results will be for singing on key.
A Great Personality! Does your voice teacher meet all the criteria listed between 1-6? Great! Time to start lessons! But wait! There might be more. Make sure you get along with your instructor! a great vocal coach will be enthusiastic and encouraging. If you find yourself being stressed or dragged down after your lessons you may want to look for someone more uplifting or that better suits your needs in terms of personality.
I hope this helps you on your journey to find a vocal instructor that is best suited for you! If you think I am that person, click on the link below to set up your lessons today: